1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a depression switch which inputs various types of signals by being depressed and a multidirectional input device.
2. Prior Art
This kind of multidirectional input device called a joy stick configures an operating member to be capable of being elevated and comprises a depression switch operated by depressing the operating member. Such multidirectional input device with a depression switch comprises a case fixed on a substrate, a pair of upper and lower rotating members supported within the case so as to be rotatable in an X-Y direction, an operating member which penetrates elongated holes provided respectively at the central portions of the pair of upper and lower rotating members and extended in a Y-X direction, which rotates the respective rotating members by being operated in a peripheral direction and which is capable of performing the depression operation, a holding mechanism for elastically holding the operating member and/or the rotating members at neutral positions, a pair of signal detecting means for detecting signals corresponding rotation angles of the rotating members and a depression switch switched by the depression operation of the operating member.
The depression switch conventionally includes a key top which is provided below the operating member so as to penetrate a bottom plate portion of the case and to be movable in a vertical direction, a dome-shaped movable contact piece which is placed below the key top and is elastically deformed when being depressed by the key top descending in accordance with the depression operation of the operating member and a fixed electrode assembly which consists of an outer contact piece formed an the substrate engaged by an end portion of the movable contact piece and an inner contact piece which is fixed and is engaged by the central portion of the elastically deformed movable contact piece contact. Note Japanese Patent Publication Application Laid-Open (JP-A) 2001-84876 (pages 4 to 5, FIGS. 1 and 7).
In accordance with the depression switch, the end portion of the movable contact piece is directly fixed to the fixed electrode, and thus a stroke for the movable contact piece to be elastically deformed cannot be made long. For this reason, the depression switch has drawbacks such as uncomfortable feeling of click and thus inferior operability of depression operation.